Krasovic/NFL Insider: Saban shouldn't be off limits to NFL

Kirk Herbstreit, college football expert for ESPN, says he is certain that Nick Saban, the Alabama coach, will never return to the NFL.

Herbstreit is exposed every Saturday to Brent Musburger, who, like lead in air pollution, is known to reduce human IQ.

Never is a long time, and if anyone belongs in the No Fun League, it is the dour workaholic Saban.

Bama will not cover the point spread against a rugged Notre Dame team three weeks hence, but the Tide should give Saban another crystal football and thus another reason to return to the NFL if not then, when the right job opens.

Saban, because of his attention to detail and defensive expertise, should be on the short list of any NFL owner who thinks he may want a new head coach.

Persuading the 61-year-old to leave his Southern fiefdom would require creative thinking, but NFL Insider, free of charge, has a three-point plan.

1 -- Hand him a blank check. Saban can name his salary in Alabama and probably knows that the 49ers gave Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh $25 million guaranteed over five years. If signing him crimps the cash flow, offer him a tiny stake in the franchise.

2 -- Show him a picture of Pete Carroll. The former USC coach is winning with the Seahawks after failing with the Jets and not taking flight with the Patriots.

Saban in 17 years as a college head coach never has known a losing season, but his second and last Dolphins team went 6-10 in 2006. Sell him on the chance to show his NFL bona fides.

3 -- Have a good quarterback in place, unless you are on the verge of drafting someone like Andrew Luck.

“We had a few quarterbacks down in Miami, maybe 10 or 11 of them,” Ronnie Brown, Saban's lead running back in 2006, told NFL Insider this week.

Actually, the Dolphins quarterbacks in '06 numbered four -- Joey Harrington, Daunte Culpepper, Cleo Lemon and Brown in the wildcat.

We’re guessing Saban won’t want to coach the next Cleo Lemon.

Air beats ground

The growth of spread option offenses within the NFL is spurring breathless talk about the “new breed” of dual-threat quarterbacks who will take over the pro game.

It is exciting to watch Robert Griffith III, Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick show prowess both as passers and high-speed runners.

The creativity of the belly option is nifty, Kaepernick having blazed 50 yards on a run in each of the last two games. Faking and then sprinting out of a four-man backfield, he was untouched against Miami last Sunday.

Ryan Mathews, by comparison, has never gone 40 yards with an NFL handoff.

The dual-threat guys are here to stay, but we don't see the one-threat quarterbacks going the way of the wooly mammoth.

Your grocery bagger could outsprint the quarterback of the NFL's best offense.